1 Praise Jehovah, all ye nations, Glorify Him, all ye peoples.
and again, `Praise the Lord, all ye nations; and laud Him, all ye peoples;'
and they sing a new song, saying, `Worthy art thou to take the scroll, and to open the seals of it, because thou wast slain, and didst redeem us to God in thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation,
After these things I saw, and lo, a great multitude, which to number no one was able, out of all nations, and tribes, and peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne, and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands, and crying with a great voice, saying, `The salvation `is' to Him who is sitting upon the throne -- to our God, and to the Lamb!'
who may not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? because Thou alone `art' kind, because all the nations shall come and bow before Thee, because Thy righteous acts were manifested.'
To the Overseer. -- A Song, a Psalm. Shout ye to God, all the earth.
Praise Thee do peoples, O God, Praise Thee do peoples, all of them.
All nations that Thou hast made Come and bow themselves before Thee, O Lord, And give honour to Thy name.
Kings of earth, and all peoples, Chiefs, and all judges of earth, Young men, and also maidens, Aged men, with youths, They praise the name of Jehovah, For His name alone hath been set on high, His honour `is' above earth and heavens. And He exalteth the horn of His people, The praise of all His saints, Of the sons of Israel, a people near Him. Praise ye Jah!
Therefore in prosperity honour ye Jehovah, In isles of the sea, the name of Jehovah, God of Israel. From the skirt of the earth we heard songs, The desire of the righteous. And I say, `Leanness `is' to me, Leanness `is' to me, wo `is' to me.' Treacherous dealers dealt treacherously, Yea, treachery, treacherous dealers dealt treacherously.
Sing to Jehovah a new song, His praise from the end of the earth, Ye who are going down to the sea, and its fulness, Isles, and their inhabitants. The wilderness and its cities do lift up `the voice', The villages Kedar doth inhabit, Sing do the inhabitants of Sela, From the top of mountains they cry. They ascribe to Jehovah honour, And His praise in the isles they declare.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 117
Commentary on Psalms 117 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
The thanksgiving Psalm ending in Hallelujah is followed by this shortest of all the Psalms, a Hallelujah addressed to the heathen world. In its very brevity it is one of the grandest witnesses of the might with which, in the midst of the Old Testament, the world-wide mission of the religion of revelation struck against or undermined the national limitation. It is stamped by the apostle in Romans 15:11 as a locus classicus for the fore-ordained ( gnadenrathschlussmהssig ) participation of the heathen in the promised salvation of Israel.
Even this shortest Psalm has its peculiarities in point of language. אמּים (Aramaic אמיּא , Arabic umam ) is otherwise alien to Old Testament Hebrew. The Old Testament Hebrew is acquainted only with אמּות as an appellation of Ismaelitish of Midianitish tribes. כּל־גּוים are, as in Psalms 72:11, Psalms 72:17, all peoples without distinction, and כּל־האמּים all nations without exception. The call is confirmed from the might of the mercy or loving-kindness of Jahve, which proves itself mighty over Israel, i.e., by its intensity and fulness superabundantly covering ( גּבר as in Psalms 103:11; cf. ὑπερεπερίσσευσε , Romans 5:20, ὑπερεπλεόνασε , 1 Timothy 1:14) human sin and infirmity; and from His truth, by virtue of which history on into eternity ends in a verifying of His promises. Mercy and truth are the two divine powers which shall one day be perfectly developed and displayed in Israel, and going forth from Israel, shall conquer the world.